How Spotlight Started

Like everything that comes into existence, it all starts with a thought. The first initial glimpse at the thought inside your own head leads to deeper questions. The questions lead to really trying to understand the problem and the solution.

Spotlight is no different.

I was always a gym shark growing up. The kind of guy who had working out on my mind all day and even on my cheat days tried to get a quick run in or tried to at least to get the blood pumping by playing sports with my friends. I was the kind of guy who would not miss a work out. It just didn’t happen. I knew what the consequences were and I knew I would definitely be upset if I did not stick to my routine and get my work out in. Though sometimes, I just couldn’t avoid missing a workout like when there was feet of snow on the streets and my car got stuck in the driveway! I would still try to adjust my schedule and just consider that day a cheat day and work out on a day I would usually take off. Even with that said, I still felt like I was letting myself down! Good times haha!

I had many gym partners growing up. Some that stuck with me for long periods of time and some that only lasted a few months but all of them were close friends that either saw the gains I was getting from consistently working out and thought it was easy as pie to get the results it took grueling hours without end for me to achieve. Or, were gym sharks themselves and motivated me to push harder and stay consistent.

I will never forget one of my longest lasting gym buddies who was older and much bigger than I was. He had this amazing saying that always made me laugh and get frustrated at the same time “….if you can’t push 50s, push 70s…” This guy was a big dude and always increased his weight with every set. I owe a lot of my physical development at the time to him.

As time went on, I realized that working out was not as much as a priority to some of my friends as it still was for me and different time commitments made it really hard to workout with the gym buddies I still had left .I started to get comfortable with working out by myself and asking for spots when needed. I don’t think anyone ever said no. Everyone is usually really nice at the gym and eager to help out when asked, just as I am.

I remember one day I was in the middle of a really intense back and shoulder workout. I love doing back and shoulders together and we can get into that in a different article! I finished my set, took a step back, drank some water and as I was resting and preparing for the next set, it dawned on me. For whatever reason, it was then and only then where the thought came into existence in my head. For the first time, a glimpse into this very thought led me to a series of questions. I realized this thought was leading to a problem and I was determined to find the solution.

What was the thought you might ask? As I was standing in a puddle of my own hard work and dedication and with the heat of my own testosterone pumping through my veins, I thought to myself, why is it that here I am, at a gym that I have been consistently going to, yet, I don’t know more than 3 or 4 people that are working out in this entire place. I didn’t even know them well either. I just knew them through the occasional spot and the casual “What’s up?” and “Later” that we always said. The thought suddenly turned into a question and the more time I gave to this thought the more energy it consumed and the deeper my interest for this was. What I also realized, was a problem. My thinking about this began to take on a life of its own; why is it that I don’t know more people at this gym? How is it possible that I see the same faces weekly and I haven’t built any real relationships with any of the people at this gym? Am I alone in this thinking, no I can’t be, I see everyone in their own head. Wouldn’t it be good to know people at this gym and other gyms in my area? Wouldn’t it be good to know who is at the gym prior to arriving so I can select the gym I want to go to based on my particular wants for that particular workout? There are probably so many mutually beneficial relationships that can be made with people who are actually living within my community by getting to know people at the gym. The gym is full of people who have many similar interests as I do. I wonder what else we have in common besides wanting to work out and improve our fitness levels. I know that since they like working out, they are my kind of people because if they have the desire to endure working out, they might also have similar business and personal development goals. Maybe I can make some real friends at the gym because I really do think we have more in common than anyone thinks. On and on my mind began to race and the more I thought about it, the more I saw the problem, the opportunity and the solution.

Spotlight was started on the thought that people who work out have many things in common and are in a great position to help each other reach their goals. Think about it, social media is built on the idea of learning about celebrities and learning about anyone across the globe but what about the people that can actually have a meaningful impact on your life. Those people are not across the globe and I doubt those people include any celebrities you might follow.

People who have a very real possibility to have an impact on your life and people who have a very real possibility to be impacted by you are the ones closest to you. They are your family, friends, associates, coworkers, neighbors etc. These people have the opportunity to meet you, learn about you and understand you. These are the people we should all try to network with.

I know what you’re thinking. So why don’t we network more with people at the gym and why is that such a great place to meet people? People don’t network as much as they can at the gym out of fear and lack of mechanism to do so. People are afraid to walk up to that female or male and just say hi and really say what they are thinking and have been thinking of for some time. They believe that at the gym we are all in our zone and we cannot be interrupted. Really? Not even for a minute or two? Not even if it means the start of a mutually beneficial relationship? I don’t buy into that. This leads me to the other reason why people don’t open up and use the gym as a great place to network which will also take the fear out of it. This leads me to Spotlight.

Spotlight is the platform gym members can use as the mechanism to meet new people at your and other gyms. By using Spotlight, you can see how dense a gym is and select one that suits your needs more. Want to work out in a gym that has a certain demographic? Spotlight now shines the light into knowing who is at the gym which will help you understand if you should work out at one gym over another based on your wants. Are you a newbie to the gym scene and want to find gym buddies to work out with? Use Spotlight to see other newbies that also go to your gym or one close by. Use Spotlight to get to know this person and take advantage of the opportunity to meet them so you both can now work out together.

What about if you’re a newbie to the gym scene and want to know more experts? Use Spotlight to find more advanced gym enthusiasts to help you along your journey while at the same time providing them with as much value as you possibly can.

We all know gym sharks have a certain drive and dedication that others who don’t work out do not have. Gym sharks can endure physical and mental pain, have physical and mental toughness and are the type of people who get things done at any cost. Since you already fit into this category, doesn’t it make sense to know more people in this category to work with and build upon your goals with? I think the answer is yes.

The scenarios in which to use Spotlight are endless. Whether you are a senior citizen trying to find a less busy gym to go to, or you are a female trying to find a gym with more females, or you are a male trying to find that new gym partner that will motivate him take his performance to the next level, Spotlight is the mechanism to know the people around you in the place where you feel best.

Spotlight started out of the need to help people connect and that’s exactly what we are doing so join the only platform built for people trying to build their lives. Join Spotlight because it’s time to be someone at the gym.